Our View: Navy Yard shooting shows gun control is not the answer

Sunday

Sep 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Genuine facts are vital for intelligent laws. Many gun-control advocates didn't wait for the facts after Monday's Washington Navy Yard mass shooting to call for more laws and to attack those who do not agree with them.

— "The fact that we do not have a firm enough background-check system is something that makes us more vulnerable to these kinds of mass shootings." — President Barack Obama.

Monday's shooting that killed 12 innocent victims actually showed nothing of the sort. The killer, Aaron Alexis, passed a federal firearms background check. That was how he purchased the shotgun he used. Not only that, Alexis passed other background checks to obtain clearance to the Navy Yard as a military contractor.

Other criminals often avoid checks even where required. They obtain guns through theft, the black market or other means. The background process might hinder a grandfather from passing down a shotgun to a grandson, but it will never stop "these kinds of mass shootings."

Not only do background checks not stop mass shootings, they create another database of Americans' personal information ripe for abuse. Like Alexis, government workers Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning also passed background checks. Then they leaked classified data. Federal lists of gun owners are supposed to be unconstitutional but, as we know, computer data is notoriously hard to "destroy"; future leaks could conceivably include personal data collected in background checks.

— "This is one more event to add to the litany of massacres that occur when a deranged person or grievance killer is able to obtain multiple weapons — including a military-style assault rifle — and kill many people in a short amount of time. When will enough be enough?" — Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Feinstein's factual error — Alexis did not use an assault rifle — exposes the logical error of the "assault rifle" ban she tried to push through the Senate. Alexis killed 12 workers. Alexis brought only a shotgun, the type of firearm Vice President Joe Biden once promoted, saying Mrs. Biden should go outside and "fire two blasts outside the house." Alexis shot at least one base security guard and grabbed two handguns, the same type of weapons used by Virginia Tech's mass shooter, and continued a running gun battle that lasted more than a half hour.

Alexis also carried out Monday's cowardly attack without using a big ammunition magazine, in a "gun-free zone" where most victims were unarmed, in a city that along with Chicago has some of the nation's harshest anti-gun laws. Feinstein's hopes to apply these laws nation-wide would solve nothing, and begs a bigger question: When these restrictions fail again — as they will — what additional limits on Americans' freedom will be demanded in the name of saying "enough is enough"?

— On Monday, University of Kansas journalism professor David Guth tweeted, "#NavyYardShooting The blood is on the hands of the NRA. Next time, let it be YOUR sons and daughters. Shame on you. May God damn you."

Factually, no stand the NRA has taken that we know of enabled Monday's shooting.

Yet the reaction by Guth, now placed on administrative leave by KU officials, and those like him is understandable in light of statements similar to Feinstein's. People led to believe that Alexis could have been stopped by background checks or further firearm bans are more likely to react with hatred toward those they disagree with.

It's time for the hatred and vilification to cease. We've proposed before steps that would reduce gun violence: focus on mental health, stress education and safety programs, limit "gun-free zones," enforce existing laws better, stop glorifying violence, and use federal health agency gun studies — such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's report issued in June.

Let's also keep in mind that U.S. firearm homicide rates today are barely half of what they were 30 years ago. Despite stories from Chicago, Washington, Detroit and other areas, U.S. gun violence overall has decreased sharply. Risking that trend by trading liberty for factually challenged security would be exactly the wrong response.

Note: This editorial has been updated to correct what Vice President Biden said about shotguns.